Opening a CR2 File

The CR2 file type is primarily associated with Digital Photo Professional.

CR2	File extension: CR2
	File type:	raw image

What is a CR2 file

CR2 files mostly belong to Digital Photo Professional by Canon. CR2 filename extension is mainly used to store digital photographs captured by Canon digital cameras and saved in Canon RAW 2 image file format. Such CR2 files contain minimally processed (Raw) image data captured by the camera's image sensor. For this reason, CR2 images maintain the highest quality until they are processed by image editors for viewing, printing etc. This CR2 format is based on Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) and lossless JPEG ITU-T81. A standard CR2 image contains graphics data, text, and metadata (EXIF, timestamps etc.). It uses a non-standard TIFF/IFD structure where there's a header before the IFD0 header in the file. CR2 is also the filename extension of 3D human figures ("character rigging") created by Poser 3D human character modeling software. A CR2 figure file contains information about a character's bones, joints, and their movement (e.g. how much each joint bends).

How to open CR2 files

You need a suitable software like Digital Photo Professional to open a CR2 file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your CR2 file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a CR2 file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online CR2 File Viewer

Choose your .cr2 file to view this image

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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How to convert CR2 files to JPG, PDF, HTML, DOC, ...

You can convert CR2 files using our online CR2 file viewer (powered by Convert.Guru):

Just click the "Choose your .cr2 file to view this image" button on this page.
After your file is opened in browser,
click "Save as..." in the menu.
Then click the file format (e.g. PDF, JPG, DOCX, TXT, ...) you want.
Your file will be converted and downloaded.

Programs that open and convert CR2 files:

Digital Photo Professional by Canon
See the previous paragraphs to learn more about the main application. CR2 files are often referred to as Digital Photo Professional camera raws because this type of file is primarily created or used by this software.
Irfanview (raw image) by Irfan Skiljan
Irfanview is a Windows-based image viewer with basic image manipulation capabilities including file conversion and editing. Irfanview allows users to view and edit images stored in Canon Raw (CR2) image format. This file format is classified as Camera Raw. Related links: Raw image format, TIFF, Canon Raw Codec
Photoshop (raw image) by Adobe
Photoshop is a professional photo editing software for desktop and mobile platforms. The program is essentially a raster graphics editor. So, in addition to editing, retouching, and enhancing photographs, you can also create high quality graphics designs with Photoshop. You can import, view, and edit CR2 images with this program. This file format is classified as Camera Raw. Related links: Raw image format, TIFF, Canon Raw Codec
Poser (character rigging) by Bondware
Poser is a 3D modeling and animation software optimized for creating human figures and characters. It saves information about the bones, joints, morphs, and movement of a character in CR2 files. This file format is classified as 3D Image.

CR2 file format:

Each file has a definite file format, that is, how the stored data is arranged in the file. A file format is determined by the file extension and signature, so JPEG images have the extension .jpg and the first bytes in the file are ÿØÿ. Frequently, however, one file extension is used by different programs for different file formats, and one file format for different file extensions. Exact knowledge of the format is therefore important in order to solve problems occurring in files. Below is our analysis of the CR2 files:

CR2 is a very widely used file extension. The file type is mainly used by one program with a specific format. But the following two file formats are common:

95% of all CR2 files belong to Canon RAW 2 format. The files are using the common file format TIFF. TIFF is short for Tagged Image File Format. It stores raster graphics images that support color depths from 1 to 24-bit, lossy and lossless compression and multiple layers and pages. They consist of illegible, cryptic characters. A typical file size is 26 MB. This file type is based on cutting-edge technology. Such files sometimes refer to canon.
1% of all CR2 files belong to Poser character rigging. The content also consists of readable text fragments, which can be viewed with the help of a text editor. The files are on average 9 MB in size and range from 330 KB to 9 MB.

All other CR2 files (4%) have no consistent format. Drag & drop your file here to see the file format and a preview of your CR2 file!

Technical Data for CR2 File Extension

File classification:

Camera Raw

Related files:

cr, rc2, crt, cr7, mg, cp2, ce2, jpg, cr1, cr3, crz, r2, raw, c2, row, ct2, codec, crg, crs, cd2, crw

Related links:

Raw image format, TIFF, Canon Raw Codec

Mime type:

image/x-raw-canon, image/x-minolta-mrw, image/x-nikon-nef

The following listing is compiled from the database produced by the 'Associate This!' program, selected data from the main FILExt database and file extension information submitted by users.

ProgramID: ACDSee 7.0.cr2
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ACD Systems\ACDSee\7.0\ACDSee7.exe %1

ProgramID: PaintShopPro9.Image
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Jasc Software Inc\Paint Shop Pro 9\Paint Shop Pro 9.exe /dde

ProgramID: PaintShopProStudio1.Image
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Jasc Software Inc\Paint Shop Pro Studio\Paint Shop Pro Studio.exe /dde

ProgramID: ACDSee 7.0.cr2
EXEFile: %SystemRoot%\Program Files\ACD Systems\ACDSee\7.0\ACDSee7.exe %1

ProgramID: ACDSee 8.0.cr2
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ACD Systems\ACDSee\8.0\ACDSee8.exe %1

ProgramID: FastStone.cr2
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\FastStone Image Viewer\FSViewer.exe %1

ProgramID: PaintShopProX.Image
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Corel\Corel Paint Shop Pro X\Paint Shop Pro X.exe

ProgramID: MediaCenter.11.File
EXEFile: %SystemRoot%\system32\MC11.exe /Play

ProgramID: IrfanView.cr2
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\IrfanView\i_view32.exe

ProgramID: ACDSee Pro.cr2
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ACD Systems\ACDSee\8.0.Pro\ACDSee8Pro.exe

ProgramID: FastStoneMV.cr2
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\FastStone MaxView\MaxView.exe

ProgramID: PaintShopProPhotoXI.Image
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Corel\Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI\Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo.exe

ProgramID: SnapfireI.Image
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Corel\Corel Snapfire Plus\Corel Snapfire.exe

ProgramID: IrfanView.cr2
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\IRFANV~1\i_view32.exe

ProgramID: MediaCenter.11.File
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\K-Lite Codec Pack\Media Player Classic\mplayerc.exe

ProgramID: Photoshop.CameraRawFileCanon2.10
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\PhootoshopCS\Adobe Photoshop CS3\Photoshop.exe

ProgramID: ACDSee.cr2
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ACD Systems\ACDSee\5.0\ACDSee5.exe

ProgramID: MyViewPad.cr2
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\My ViewPad\MyViewPad.exe

ProgramID: FastStone.cr2
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\FastStone\FSIV\FSViewer.exe

ProgramID: Canon CR2 Image
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ArcSoft\RAW Thumbnail Viewer\RAW Thumbnail Viewer.exe

Show all 20 listings To Top

a cr2 raw image is a special file format by Canon and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.

How to solve problems with CR2 files

Associate the CR2 file extension with the correct application.
Update your software that should actually open raw images. Because only the current version supports the latest CR2 file format. Search, therefore, e.g. on the Canon manufacturer website after an available Digital Photo Professional update.
To make sure that your CR2 file is not corrupted or virus-infected, get the file again and scan it with Google's virustotal.com.
Click here to open your .CR2 file online - secure, fast, and no downloads needed.